Everything has its Jaguar. A narratological approach to conceptualising Caribbean Saladoid animal imagery

Abstract

This dissertation is a

contribution to the conceptualisation of the Caribbean Saladoid zoomorphic

iconography (i.e., a ceramic series dating 200/800 BCE to 400/600 CE). To this

end, indigenous South American narratives have been analysed, serving as a framework in order to investigate the imagery on display. It is with reason that we humans tell stories from the very moment we are able to speak: storytelling is a strategy through which we make sense of the world around us. In addition, narratives are a means to share and transmit knowledge. They therefore themselves provide information not only on the people that tell them but also on how they perceive the world. Caribbean archaeologists aim to understand past Caribbean cultures by means of their material culture, in the broadest sense. We seek to reconstruct political and social structures, belief systems and the everyday lives of communities. The focal point of the archaeological study presented here is the Saladoid zoomorphic iconography, in particular ceramic modelled and incised animal/human figurines or head lugs (adorno). Identified zoomorphic adornos have been introduced as case studies in order to answer the central question: what does this imagery tell us about the indigenous peoples who created it?